Türkiye seeks to host next COP as co-presidency plans falter

ISTANBUL: Türkiye wants to host next year’s UN climate change talks and is ready to organise the event alone if there is no agreement on sharing the event, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP on  Sunday (Nov 16). 

Australia and Türkiye are locked in a stalemate over who should host the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in 2026.

The host is selected by consensus, so unless Australia or Türkiye withdraws or the countries agree to share the conference, both will miss out. A decision should be made at the current COP conference in Belem, Brazil.

If no consensus is reached, the summit would revert to Bonn, the German city that hosts the UN’s climate secretariat.

The Turkish source said discussions with Australia at the UN General Assembly’s annual meetings in September yielded initial proposals for joint management of the event and shared high-level meetings.

But a letter from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the agreements, citing UN rules against joint hosting and concerns about diverting COP’s Pacific-focused agenda, the source said. 

Ankara supports developing flexible arrangements through good-faith consultations to ensure the success of COP31, the source said.

“Türkiye continues to advocate a co-presidency model as a step to strengthen multilateralism but is prepared to host the conference independently if consensus cannot be reached,” the source told AFP. Erdogan underlined this position in his response to the Australian prime minister, the source added.